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I first started drinking tea by the influence of my parents and elder people when I was a kid. They drank tea and shared with me. So, I grew up drinking tea. I mainly like red tea (black tea) and Chinese Oolong tea. I also sometimes enjoy Pu Er tea and other kinds of good tasting tea of quality which is safe for myself and Chinese customers.

I am a guy from Xiamen working at XIAMEN GREATWALL CORP., with foods export experience of 23 years worldwide. I have been involved in the tea trading business for over 10 years personally and start importing tea from Sri Lanka and other countries to China, in our own brand “TESTER”.

I wish to communicate with tea lovers worldwide, for tea enjoyment and for tea business. I welcome other ITCC members to contact me at zhang.lin@xmgrt.com. Thanks.

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11 2017

A long, long, time ago, in the Dong Ting Western Mountains lived a beautiful, kind and hardworking girl named Bi Luo. One day, Miss Bi Luo went to Dong Ting East Mountain to cut firewood. When she had climbed half way up the mountain, on the mountain breeze she smelled a captivating but pure fragrance. She turned her head and looked around. She saw that on Mo Li (Jasmine) Peak there were a few tea trees on the highest peak. The fragrance was coming from there. Curious, she climbing over the precarious rocks and cliffs to the peak. She found, in between the broken stones, were a few green tea trees. The very strong fragrance emanated from the bushes. Miss Bi Luo picked some of the young buds and placed them inside the inner pocket of her blouse. She descended the mountain and headed for home. When she arrived home she was both tired and thirsty so she took some of the buds out of her pocket. She immediately smelled the penetrating fragrance which filled the room. Overwhelmed, she shouted, “Ha Sa Ning, Ha Sa Ning” “Startle to death, startle to death”. While she was enjoying the aroma she started to brew some of the buds. After drinking the tea, the liquor infused through her body penetrating even into her organs. The fragrance remained for a long time. She also felt energized and all of her fatigue dissipated. She was very happy and amazed and became determined to transplant some of the tea bushes back in her home. The next day she returned to the peak and dug out some of the little tea trees and planted in them in the foot of the Shi Gong hill of Western Mountains. She took good care of them.

Several years later, as the tea trees prospered, the fragrance from the trees attracted the villagers from the neighboring regions. Miss Bi Luo dried the buds into “copper filaments full of fur”. She brewed them to entertain the people. After drinking, the people were speechless because of the unique aroma and asked “what tea is this”. She replied “Startled me to death.” “Ha Sa Ning” Xiang “Startle to Death” Aroma. Ever since, this kind of “copper filaments full of fur, Startle to Death” tea names became wide spread in the East Mountain and Western Mountain area.

After she died, in memory of her, the local people called this kind of tea Bi Luo Chun (Bi Luo Spring).

Processing Steps of Bi Luo Chun green tea

Authentic Bi Luo Chun is harvested only in spring season. The first step is to pick the correct leaves. There can be different grades. This means 1 bud and 1 leaf or 1 bud and 2 leaves. Then, tea leaves are carried back to the factory for processing. The leaves are cooked in a big pot. They are fried. Here are the processing steps.

1. Fixing. When the temperature inside the pot reaches two hundred degrees Celsius, you can put in 1200 grams tea leaves. Shake a handful of leaves to sprinkle them evenly in the pot, and then stir with both hands, about three to five minutes. The hand techniques during this time are fishing clean, shake, spread, kill evenly and thoroughly. There should be no red stems and no leaves which are scorched.

2. Rubbing. Do side flick frying step and then rubbing. At this point water in the strip of tea will be reduced. After the tea reaches about sixty percent dryness, then use twisting of the leaves step for ten minutes. This time you can go to the next step.

3. Kneading / Twisting the white hairs. While frying all the tea will be rubbed a number of rounds. And then, from time to time, they are scattered around to break up the clumps. Repeated several times. The hair will gradually show.

4. Drying. The purpose of drying is to fix the shape of the tea. When the tea leaves evaporate to Jiucheng time, they can be put on mulberry paper. And then put the paper together on the pot to dry.